Reba Song Series - Angel In Your Arms
by RamblinRedRose
Summary: Using Reba's HUGE discography as reference, I'm going to be writing one story for each song using that as a basis. Some of the stories will be RPF with Reba and Narvel and some will be 'Reba' fiction, depends on what will fit the song. I hope you like this idea and stick with me..I'm going in chronological order so here is story number 1 :0) enjoy.
1. Prologue

ANGEL IN YOUR ARMS - PROLOGUE

As she lay down on the bed in her small stateroom, Reba could hear the gentle humming of "Ole Mae's" engine as she sailed down the highway to yet another location for her recent tour. The lights from oncoming cars dulled by the blacked out windows shone a dim wave of light into the room from time to time, the sound of their wheels on the road as they passed blocked out by the thoughts mulling around Reba's head. She was wide awake and gave up on trying to catch some sleep an hour ago, when waking from yet another night of restless sleep, her mind instantly going to the constant worrying of the whereabouts of her "husband". If you can call him that. For the past 6 months, her marriage to Charlie Battles had been going through a rough patch, one little argument here and there turned into constant bickering between them that lead to more heated debates, that usually ended in one of them telling the other to go to hell. Now Reba isn't one to cuss but with that red-headed temper and a man like Charlie to deal with, sometimes she can't help herself. It had become that much of a problem that Charlie had started insisting on "Catching up" with Reba when she travels to shows, meaning he will either be bothered to drive behind the bus or not, creating even more space between the already estranged couple. This does not bode well with Reba as now, instead of having her wayward husband beside her at all times, he is usually somewhere far away, where she cannot keep her sights on him. If there is one thing Reba can't stand for, its a man being unjust to his wife, however hard the situation may be.

It was on one of those nights where our story begins, for as Reba rolled onto her side and glanced at the clock - the red numbers glaring at her as if mocking her - she saw that the time was 5:23am._ Great_, she thought._ Another crappy nights sleep and I have to be up in two hours for press release on the new album_. She lay there debating whether or not to try and get another hours sleep or just get up now and get ready for the long day ahead. As she looked at the clock again, her mind went back to her husband, for tonight was another night where he had chosen to stay home rather than come out with her, an action that months earlier had upset her but now, after dealing with it for so long, she had become accustomed to not having him by her side. However, there was always that little voice inside her head that screamed _"where is he? what is he doing? who is he with?"_. Its not like she doesn't want to trust Charlie, but lately, knowing that her gut instinct had always been right in the past, she's getting the feeling that maybe there is another reason as to why he isn't spending every night with her anymore. It's not like they have been intimate recently, the last time she shared a bed with the man was when he came home drunk after going out with his rodeo buddies and asking, nay, begging her to sleep with him. It was rough and uncomfortable and over within minutes, and Reba wept afterwards ashamed of herself for letting him treat her that way. That was one month and 12 days ago, she knows this because one week after she got quite a scare when realising that they hadn't used any protection...and she was late.

She thanks God every day since then that it was a false alarm, knowing that although she loved him with all her heart, and she did, she could never imagine having a child with him.

Now, lying on that bed, looking up towards the ceiling of that bus, she wondered if for once her gut instinct might be wrong, hoping maybe that it was just her imagination getting ahead of her, but no. Reba knew that she was right in thinking it, deep down knowing that it had been going on for some time now.

Charlie was being unfaithful.

But that wasnt what was bothering Reba...what was upsetting her was the fact that she didn't feel all the feelings she thought she _should_ feel if she ever came across this situation. She didn't feel betrayed, heart broken, hurt, bitter...she felt..._nothing_.


	2. Chapter 1

Two days after that night Reba was onstage for a quick rehearsal. Although she wasn't one for rehearsing too much because of the effect it can have on her voice, this was a new song that she and the band had decided to include on her tour that night. It was in the middle of this rehearsal that her manager, Bill Carter walked up onstage, waving a hand to the band to cut the music, Reba turned around - the the look on his face told her what she already knew.

"Red, I just got a phone call from Charlie. Says he's coming up here tomorrow"

Reba just fiddled with her mic and replied with a short "kay"

"Aren't you gonna ask why?"

"I know why Carter...he's bored and lonely"

Bill looked towards the band who had been pretending to tune their instruments whilst listening in.

"You guys excuse us for a minute?"

He gave them a look that said "if you don't move your asses now, I'll move 'em for ya".

They scuttled off towards the cafeteria muttering to themselves, whilst walking past Reba giving her looks of sympathy. They knew about the trouble she and Charlie had been having, mainly due to the fact that most of their intense arguments had taken place on the road, in a bus that was moving so they couldn't really go elsewhere. She knew they hated living in that atmosphere, so when Charlie had decided to up and leave every so often, they felt a sense of ease on the bus. They were able to have a few laughs with Reba and mess around without having to walk on eggshells most of the time.  
And it wasn't just the band...Reba herself found that she was more carefree when Charlie wasn't around, a sure sign that something wasn't right in their marriage...what wife wants to be away from her husband? what wife gets depressed when knowing her husband is going to be around soon?

This wife. Her.

Bills voice brought her out of her thoughts.

"Now listen here darlin', I don't like this as much as you do, Lord when you two get together I just want to run for cover. I know how feisty you can get", this brought a slight smile from Reba ,"but you have to understand that all couples go through this. You guys have been married 8 years..there's bound to be glitches here and there, but this has gotten bigger than the both of you and it's affecting those around you. And it's not just the behind the scenes stuff, heck Narvel came up to me the other day with a list of great ideas for the show, but he's too darn scared to talk to you about them for fear of Charlie finding out. Red, I saw your face when I mentioned Charlie, now I don't mind you two having your differences, but you have to talk this out like adults. If you make the peace now, it may fix things between you. I know you love each other, you're just goin' through a bad patch. Best thing about a marriage is workin' at it"

Reba processed all that he said. Yes she loved Charlie. Yes she knows he loves her too. But still, that gut feeling was gnawing away at her, telling her that whatever she tried to do to save this marriage, it always came to nothing. Maybe she should sit down and talk to Charlie, one more chance couldn't hurt could it? Reba put her mic back into the stand and sighed heavily, turning to look at Bill.

"You're one stubborn man you know that?"

Bill chuckled

"Alright, fine. I'll talk to him, heck, I'll even be nice to the son-of-a-bitch", she grinned, "but I can't guarantee anything Carter, you know him, he's not gonna want to listen to me. He'll just brush it off as hormones or somethin' he can't be dealin' with right now".

"But you'll try?"

Reba sighed again

"But i'll try"

Bill wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her tight. This man was like a second brother to Reba, she was lucky that she had him in her life, especially at this tough time. When they let go, he gently raised her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it.

"That's my girl"

Reba scoffed and wiped her hand on her jeans, pretending to be grossed out.

"Get outta here, go. Skoot. I got work to do"

He let out a hearty laugh and walked away, yelling back to Reba "Yes you do!"

Reba stood there by herself for what seemed like ages, going over what had just happened and what was about to happen tomorrow. Oh boy.

She walked towards the cafeteria to where the band was and found them huddled over a small table, talking in hushed voices.  
Walking over to them she swore she heard her name mentioned, they obviously hadn't noticed her come in. As she got closer she coughed to grab their attention, they all looked up in unison and shifted into very "relaxed" positions.

Reba rolled her eyes, "oh please, as if you weren't talking about me. You guys are more transparent than plexi-glass"

"But plexi-glass isn't - OW!"

As her bass player rubbed his shin Reba giggled. Trust these guys to make her feel better. As they moved down a spot to make room for her at the table she looked at them and realised that it was time she said something about the situation, and maybe to help them gather the facts.

"Alright guys, since you were talking about me anyways I might aswell bring up the subject of me and Charlie. As you heard, tomorrow he's going to be joining us on the road again. I know you guys don't like it. I know you want to protect me and that's very sweet of ya'll, but you have to realise that I'm a big girl now. I'm not that naive 23 year old that you met years ago, I can handle my own battles," this earned a few chuckles from the band ,"seriously guys, I gotta make this work with Charlie, so when he gets here I'm gonna talk to him and we're gonna sort this whole thing out. Then hopefully, we'll be back to normal. I need your support on this, okay? You guys are my family and I love you to pieces, but this is something between me and my husband"

Looks were shared across the table and a general agreement was met.

"You got it Red".

"Good. Now, a little birdie told me that someone here has a list of ideas for my show..."

Over at the other end of the table a head shot up, Narvel Blackstock, Reba's steel guitar player looked like a deer caught in headlights.

"um...uh...tha...". He coughed, trying to clear his throat. "That would be me"

Reba looked at him and couldn't help but smile. He'd joined them in 1980 and since then he has never let her down. Always on time. Always ready to rehearse, willing to learn. He had a passion for this business just as she did, maybe even stronger. Till now she had never really had a conversation with him, a few words here and there, but she'd not got to know him as well as the others, for he always kept himself to himself. But he was always smiling. That's one thing that captured Reba as she continued to stare at him...his optimism in life was astounding, making her want just a bit of that.

"Well Narvel, you wanna share these ideas?"

The table looked at him, she swears she could see from behind his beard his cheeks turning red.

"Sometime today?" she grinned

Another cough "yeah sure, um...how about after we finish up the song?"

"That's fine with me" another smile. Has he always been this shy?

"Alright fella's why don't you go on out to the stage and I'll meet you after I have something to eat?"

You couldn't have seen them for dust at the pace they moved out of that cafeteria, Reba just sat there confused, until she realised why they were in such a hurry to leave.

"HEY! YOU GUYS ATE ALL THE FOOD?!" 


	3. Chapter 2

After what seemed like hours of rehearsing, Reba had finally had enough and told the band to head off for some relaxation before the show that night. Taking a well deserved break, she drank some water and sat down on the stage...as great as cowboy boots were..they were not kind to your feet after being on them all day. Closing her eyes, she didn't notice Narvel walking back into the room with a piece of paper in his hands, looking at it intently with a pencil in his mouth. He didn't look up until he got to the stage and noticed Reba, sitting with her legs out in front her crossed at the ankle and leaning on her arms which were spread behind her back, almost as if she were bathing in the stage lighting. As he stepped closer, Narvel watched the look on her face as it went from tiredness to content, a small smile playing on Reba's lips as she felt herself melt into the floor. He felt bad, knowing that tomorrow that smile wouldn't be there, and the look on her face will have changed to that of which he never liked to see...sorrow.

Being so very quiet, he gently sat down on the stage and began looking over his list again. He knew that she needed this time to relax and get into her mindset for the show, plus it wasn't often that she got the time to settle down, so he let her have now, and when she was ready, she will let him know. So there they sat, on opposite ends of the stage, in complete and content silence.

After a few minutes of looking at the list, the words began to get blurry as his train of thought moved to Reba once more, he wondered if she knew he was there, for she had not moved from the spot he found her in, her eyes still closed and her breathing steady. He looked over at her and he wished to God he hadn't for what he saw took his breath away. The lighting on Reba made her glow a soft gold hue, almost as if she were an angel. The light had caught millions of dust particles surrounding her and when they caught the light they shone like glitter. Her profile was what captured him the most, her soft curls gently caressing her face and upper back - she had been letting them grow out, and he was silently grateful for that, for he thought she never looked more beautiful than when she was natural, no make-up and loose hair - she hated her forehead, always trying to cover it up, but he secretly hated it although she looked adorable with bangs. The angle at which her head was tilted made her nose more pronounced than usual, he realised then and there that he had always loved her nose, it was pixie-like, a gentle slope from the forehead into a upward curve and then down to a tiny round tip. Perfect.

Her mouth.

Dear Lord, why didn't he recognise this sooner? All of a sudden when looking at this woman why did he want to take her in his arms and gently kiss those lips? Those soft, full lips, that when she sang, they would contort around her words so delicately that he was amazed the first time he watched her sing, when that powerful voice came out with just a glimmer of movement.  
Those lips were responsible for the best smile he'd ever seen. He loved it when she smiled big, grinned or just sweetly sloped up one side of her mouth. And those dimples, they were to die for. This glimpse of Reba's profile slowly came to an end when he reached her chin, again tracing the line from her lower lip - on which he wanted to gently suck on and nibble - he saw that it continued down into a perfect "S" shape, gliding down into her swan like neck...

Narvel abruptly moved his eyes away when his thoughts became too much to handle. How can one tiny detail, change the way he looked at his boss from respect to...lust? He was a married man for Pete's sake and shouldn't be thinking like this. So why was it so hard to tear his eyes away from her in that moment? Maybe it's the tiredness from today, they have been working hard...or maybe the fact that his wife isn't here and he's getting lonely? _yeah that's it_, he thought,_ you're looking at Reba like that because you haven't gotten any for a while you_..._hound dog._

As he was shaking his head to himself, he went back to focusing on the paper infront of him, making little changes to ideas here and there.

"How long have you been sitting there?"

Narvel quickly glanced up and turned his head in Reba's direction, her soft Oklahoma accent bringing him out of his work.

"Um..not long..I didn't want to disturb you so I just sat here till you were ready"

Reba looked at him for a long time, her eyes sparkling like a deep ocean in the soft light. He felt like he was being scrutinized for a while until she smiled at him, although somehow, this one didn't _quite_ reach her eyes.

"Thank you, I appreciate it"

He smiled back.

She scooted on closer to him and sat cross legged with her hands clasped together in her lap.

"So...this the list?"

He nodded

"May I see?" She held out her hand and looked in his eyes

"Su..sure"

He handed over the piece of paper, all the while looking down bashfully. She took the paper and looked it over, humming when she noticed something appealing to her. With her sitting this close, Narvel was becoming aware of how good Reba smelled, her sweet scent a mix of vanilla and oranges, _Good Lord_, he thought, _I'm a dead man._

After waiting for her to finish reading for a few minutes, she gently reached out and grabbed his pencil which was still in his hand, their fingers touched briefly, but this only appeared to affect Narvel.

"Do you mind if I make a suggestion?" she asked softly

"No, go ahead"

"This one here, number 9? I think that if maybe we change the backdrop to a deeper blue, then it would help the transition into the last song, as the stage has to be in complete darkness. If it's a too brighter colour then the change would be less seamless...you know what I mean?"

Amazing. He thought. I was just about to write that down before she startled me. He smiled.

"That's exactly what I thought"

She looked up at him, her eyes shining with excitement

"Really?! That's great!"

His smile got bigger.

Hers, went all the way up to her eyes, dimples an' all.

After going over the list once more to reiterate all that changes they had made, Reba and Narvel both sighed in happiness. They had worked as a team and had gotten a great result out of it. Now all that was left was to put them into motion, something that Reba could tell Narvel was having trouble with.

"Can I ask you something?" she said

"Sure"

"Why didn't you show this to Charlie? These are great ideas Narvel, it looks like you have been thinking about them a while now, I'm sure you've wanted to get them out there"

Narvel looked down onto the stage floor, all of a sudden very nervous.

"Come on, you can tell me" She put her hand on his shoulder

"I guess i just didn't want him puttin' me down in front of the guys. I knew that if I'd shown you first then I would have at least one person on my side. Charlie would just straight up say no"

Reba kept her hand on Narvel's shoulder, looking down at his hands, noticing how they still looked so soft and gentle, despite long hours of playing the steel guitar.

"Narvel if you keep having ideas like these I will always be on your side. You are a talented man. No one else I know in the business would have thought of all this for just one show, for one singer who most of the country hasn't heard of. You put a lot of effort into this, and I appreciate it. Charlie on the other hand, he just takes some wearin' down. Don't worry about him, leave that part to me, kay?"

"I don't want to be a cause of something Reba"

"What do you mean?"

Narvel took a deep breath.

"I know, like the rest of us, what's been goin' on with you and Charlie. And I fear if you bring this up when you're trying to work things out, that it may bring out another fight between you two, and I don't wanna be the cause of that, I don't want to be the cause of your sadness"

Reba was in shock. She thought she had hidden it well, after every fight with Charlie she would hold her head up high and pretend that it didn't hurt her, but as soon as she was alone, the tears would fall, and her heart would hurt just that tiny bit more than the day before. Had she really been that careless that she had shown her real feelings, maybe even for a second. Maybe. But that didn't shock her, what shocked her was that Narvel the quietest of the bunch, had been the only one to mention her feelings rather than their own.

"I'm sorry I shouldn't have said that, you're my boss and what you and your husband talk about is none of my business"

Reba stopped him with her hand, when he looked up he saw that her eyes were shining more brightly than before. Were those tears?

"Don't ever apologise to me. That was a sweet thing for you to say. I'm just sorry that you saw that side of me"

"That side is what makes you human Reba, you can't be this non stop workaholic happy as larry performer all the time, you need to have a place where you can just be...I dunno...Reba"

Reba smiled, grateful for this man in this moment.

"Narvel, you sure don't do things by halves do ya? when you wanna make a girl cry, you make her cry"

"I'm sor-"

Reba held a hand up

He smiled.

After composing herself, Reba jumped up from the floor and held her hand out for Narvel, pulling him up with her.

"How's about we go and get some real food, since you guys left me starvin' back there".

Narvel had the courtesy to look ashamed...only a little though.

"I wanna get to know you. Heck! tell me your life story Narvel Blackstock, we got," she looked at her watch, "exactly three hours till showtime" she grinned at him.

Narvel laughed a good hearty laugh. It took Reba a full minute to lose the widespread grin on her face from hearing it.

"You got it, Red"


	4. Chapter 3

First of all I want to say thank you for the reviews!

Chatte578 - Reba has said many times that when she goes with her gut instinct it always comes out to be the right decision. She doesn't know for sure if Charlie is having an affair, its her getting that gut feeling and her knowing that its never wrong. Don't worry though, she does question it in later chapters :0)

Reba-Brockfan - hey! Have you read a story under this name before? or somewhere else? I think you may have my name confused with another, this is the first fic I have written under this name on here :0) but thank you for reviewing and liking the story :0)

Now on with the show! All rights reserved and all that, wish I could own the characters, especially Reba...just imagine...a tiny Reba to go in my pocket...ugh she's so CUTE!

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Down the street at a little diner opposite the theatre where Reba was about to perform, she and Narvel were slowly getting to know one another. He had just told her about his childhood and she had just finished explaining why her daddy wanted her to go into music so badly.

"So Red can't ride barrels..." Narvel chuckled "I thought you were a real cowgirl?"

This earnt him a fry unceremoniously tossed in his face

"Okay city boy...what about you? what made you get into the music industry, Carter told me you were a great salesman"

"Insurance. I liked it, the money was alright. It just wasn't something I saw myself doing for the rest of my life. I took the job because I knew it would put a roof over my family's head and food on the table. As long as they were happy, I was"

"And the fact that you play in a band for a singer who is about to go onstage infront of about 2000 people comes in where?" Reba lifted one eyebrow and curled her lip into a smirk

"Well, the insurance was a steady job. But I loved music, learned to play the steel guitar aged 8"

"8 years old!? My Lord!" Reba giggled

"Yup, was hard but I practiced every day. When I turned 14 I began playing in Pentecostal churches and going on the road with this gospel quartet every so often"

"Looks like we both started pretty early"

Narvel smiled

"Yeah, it was good for a while. Then it came to be that I would be getting booked for shows every weekend, my school work suffered because I would miss Monday and Friday days because of all the travellin'. The worst part however was the actual travelling...Lord...I swear I don't know how I continued doin' it but just imagine 6 or 7 guys twice my age, snoring loudly in an unconditioned bus, hotter than young love in Georgia, and me trying to sleep".

Reba couldn't help but laugh at this. As they were getting to know each other, she noticed that he was coming out of his shell more. No longer held up by shyness, this guy told stories like a child who'd heard it just once and couldn't wait to tell his parents. His eyes lighting up whilst talking about his love for music, his animated hands when telling tales of his childhood. Why on earth had she not gotten to know this man sooner? He was becoming a fast friend in Reba's eyes, and the fact that he had had a similar background growing up - well in the music business anyways - she now had someone to talk to when times got rough on the road, knowing that he would relate..and they could bitch and moan together.

"Reba?"

She was brought out of her thoughts by Narvel, looking at her with a confused expression on his face.

"Sorry...kinda went somewhere"

"Yeah you did" Narvel chuckled, "better be careful red, guy could think he's boring you"

Reba laughed again, this guy is hysterical, she thought.

"Don't worry Narvel, you could never bore me. That's the best thing about having the attention span of a two year old, I get to choose what it goes on and I choose you" she winked at him over her cup of sweet tea.

He pretened to tilt an imaginary cap, "why thank you ma'm"

She giggled again.

"Narvel...I have to say something"

"uh oh"

"Nothin' bad. I just want to apologise for the way I acted towards you when you first came to be with us"

"Reba-"

"Shhh. I'm talkin'" she grinned.

"Go ahead then" He smirked back.

"That first day you joined us...some of the band member told me afterwards how big of a deal it was for you to play with us and how much hard work you put in to learning the songs at such short notice. And there's me, not even acknowledgin' you and walking right past. That was rude of me. If I'd known then you'd be such a great guy to talk to I would have spoken to you then and there, who knows we could have been best buds right now, instead of just gettin to know each other"

"Reba, you don't have to apologise for that, heck you were probably trying to get the show over and done with, and I know how that feels. I'm just a guy that tagged along for a show that later got sucked in by the excitement of being on the road again. I do have to say though, in that moment when you walked past and didn't say anything, I thought to myself, 'my my, for a country bumpkin she sure thinks a lot of herself' "

Reba pretended to look hurt.

"You thought I was a country BUMPKIN? That is hurtful. I'm a rodeo brat!" she stuck her nose in the air and made a small sound of annoyance.

Narvel just smiled. She was cute when she got all "mad".

"Okay then, tell me what you thought about me and we'll call it even"

She turned to face him and looked him dead in the eye.

"Okay, I thought you were a spoilt city boy who didn't want to socialise with his band mates or boss. You were too quiet for my likin'"

Narvel pretended to remove an arrow from his chest.

"WOMAN. You wound me"

They laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation. Narvel had to think back as to when he had seen Reba this let go and laugh as she is now. She was beautiful. Quickly shaking his head, he tried to remove the thoughts he was having. Stop it.  
You have a wife and three kids. You shouldn't be thinking about your boss this way. Your married boss by the way. She may be having problems but they are going to work them out. So get your mind away from temptation and stick with the program mister! Looking back up to Reba, who was still grinning from Narvel's joke, he remembered that this is the last time she is probably going to feel like this after tomorrow...so carefree.

Little did Narvel know, was that Reba was thinking the same thing. She was dreading Charlie coming tomorrow, she didn't know if she had it in her to go with Carter's advice and talk it out with him. Plus this gut feeling she was having was getting stronger...still not wanting to believe he could be unfaithful...but knowing her instinct, she had to find out, just to get it out in the open.

Either he was or he wasn't. She will know by tomorrow.

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Well, I know it's a little shorter than the others, but I just had to get it written down this morning and out of my head, because I don't know if you know this but I have a tendency to get a great idea in a second and then forget to write it down and then forget it completely :0(

Please read and review, they mean a lot in terms of if I should continue writing this or not :0)

Thanks guys! x


	5. Chapter 4

The next day Reba awoke to voices outside the door to her stateroom.

She glanced over at the clock, 9:18am. She laid back down and sighed happily, thankful for the day off from touring. Last nights show had been another success. The auditorium was filled, tickets had sold out almost instantly. The new song that she had been rehearsing got a standing ovation from the crowd, setting a large smile on her face as she and the band took a bow. Halfway through the show she looked out into the audience and saw posters and banners with her name on them, she had to even compose herself before singing because the effort that those people had made to come to the concert and show their love for her in such a way made her choke up a little. Again reminding herself to thank God for letting her be in such a privileged position.

_After lunch Reba and Narvel were walking back towards the theatre about an hour before the show started. Reba had been very quiet the entire walk and Narvel was wondering if he had said something wrong back at the diner. Suddenly she turned to him, grabbing his arm and stopping them in their tracks._

_"I just got an idea!" She exclaimed_

_"Do I like where this is goin'?"_

_Reba playfully hit him on the shoulder_

_"Number 9!"_

_Narvel just stared blankly at her, waiting for her to continue_

_"Red you feelin' okay?"_

_"Number 9 Narvel! How's about we put it in the show tonight?!"_

_"Tonight? ummm..."_

_"Come on, think about it, it's a great way to introduce the new song and Charlie ain't here so he can't say no. If we try it tonight and it works, then he'll have to agree to that idea! We can do this for all your ideas! When he's not here, we'll do a new idea each show, then if we think the audience likes it then we keep it, if they don't we forget about that one and try a new one"_

_Narvel looked at the ground and then back up to Reba's excited face. Her eyes were bigger than a kids on Christmas morning._  
_She sure was up for anything. Didn't care if it failed or not, always wanting to try new things. Another reason as to why he was beginning to like her just that little bit more._

_"Reba, I'm not sure. It sounds like a great idea but...lying to Charlie? What if he found out what we were doin? I'd be fired for sure. I'm up for anything red but I'm not sure laying my job on the line for some dumb ideas is worth it"_

_Reba's face slowly fell as he spoke._

_"Dumb? Narvel how many times do I have to tell you, these ideas are really great. Heck if I thought Charlie wasn't coming back I'd put 'em in the show now and keep 'em there. Please? Please? Just one little idea tonight and then we'll sort something out tomorrow"._

_"Charlie's not gonna find out?"_

_"I promise" she held up three fingers on her right hand._

_Narvel nodded his head, Reba laughed in delight as they walked to the stage door of the theatre, just before walking in Reba stopped herself and turned quickly to Narvel._

_"You do realise I was never a Girl Scout right?" she winked and fled through the door and ran down the hallway._

_"RED!"_

Reba smiled at the memory as Narvel chased her down the hall and made her promise again, this time she used her pinky.

_"I never break a pinky promise Blackstock, remember that"_

A knock at the door broke Reba from her thoughts. She sighed again, getting out of bed and putting on her robe, she slowly made her way to the door and opened it forcefully.

"Wakey wakey eggs and- oh RebaNeller you look rough. Bad night's sleep?"

Reba screamed and jumped into her brother's arms as he spun her around. When he set her back down they were both grinning from ear to ear.

"What the heck are you doin' here?!" She asked as she slapped Pake's chest.

"Well, I got no rodeoin' to do for about a week so I thought I'd drop by on my superstar kid sister...Where is Susie?" he asked looking around.

"Ha ha". she clocked him upside the head.

"Naw in all seriousness sis, I'm just checkin' in to see if you're doin' okay"

"Well, I'm doin' fine. Just tired I suppose from the show" She smiled at him. "Oh I'm so glad you're here!" she cried as she hugged him again.

"Alright, let me go and get ready, I see you've already met the boys so just go relax and I'll be out in a sec".

"Sure thing RebaNeller"

She glared at him

"Sorry, Miss McEntire" he said as he bowed dramatically.

She threw a pillow at him "Get outta here!" she laughed as he walked backwards out of the room carrying her pillow, still bowed over.

"Boys! Don't you get him in trouble!" she called out to the bus full of men.

She needn't have bothered, for as soon as she closed the door she heard her band members leap up from their respective seats and carry her brother out of the bus where they proceeded to laugh, holler and play-fight in the hot sun.

"Craaaaaaaaaap"


	6. Chapter 5

Okay I know I said I would update last Thursday, but I have been major busy with uni work. So I'm sorry, I can't stand it when my fave stories don't get updated for ages. so thank you for being patient :0)

Also thank you for the reviews, they mean a lot. It keeps me going.

I know this isn't exactly what you guys have been waiting for, believe me Charlie will be coming in soon, I just don't want to rush things. Plus I like writing for Pake and Reba, from reading her book, I can tell that these two were best friends growing up :0)

It's a little short, but I hope this keeps you guys going until I can update properly. :0)

You know the drill, if I owned anything it would be Reba..in my pocket...constantly singing Fancy and looking cute :0)

Thanks guys :0)

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About an hour later, Reba walked out of her stateroom and towards the front of the bus...to where she knew there was food.  
She grumbled and cussed at the early wake up call but she knew once she was fed and watered, she would be happy.

_You sound like a dang ficus Nell._

However, when she got there she had a feeling of deja vu, for once again the band had cleaned that kitchen of every sausage,  
scrambled eggs and bacon it held, all that was left was the aroma of the breakfast Reba had been looking forward to all morning. Storming to the front door of the bus, looking out at her band mates who were currently tackling her older brother to the ground in some makeshift football game, she pushed it open and put her thumb and middle finger in her mouth.

The sound of the whistle made all the boys jump to their feet and look towards Reba as she descended the steps, a look of fury on her face as she waltzed up to the men.

"Would somebody like to tell me where all the food went please?" she said in a sickly sweet voice, puncuated with a batting of her eyelids.

When nobody spoke she moved towards another band member.

"Do you know where the food is? I know there was some because I smelt it cooking this morning, so don't you dare lie to me son"

When he gulped and looked towards Pake, Reba flung her head around to look at him, her loose curls gently brushing against her face with the slight wind. She marched on over to Pake, and found herself getting madder when she caught him sniggering. She looked at him for a long time, her eyes studying his face for clues. He just stood there, a big grin on his face and his hands in his front pockets.

"Pig"

That was it, Reba ran towards him and tackled him to the ground, she may be small but she was mighty.

As Reba was pounding on his chest, Pake tried to stop laughing as he grabbed her hands in his and finally pried her off him,  
still keeping her fists well away from his body, he turned to the band.

"Alright boys, playtime's over. Looks like your boss is cranky, tired and-"

"Hungry" Reba pouted.

As the boys headed off towards the bus, Pake pulled Reba over to the picnic tables they had parked next to. Looking around him he slowly bent down and rummaged under the table, finally coming back up with a plate in his hands. Reba's eyes got big as she slowly took in what was on it - pancakes, syrup, berries, eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns and Reba's favourite:  
Miracle Whip.

"How did you-"

"Shhh. Had to sneak it off before the boys ate it all, why do you think I let them tackle me out here, had to distract em so they wouldn't notice me gone" he pushed the plate towards her.

"Dig in. Pig"

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Please please review. Also if you want to you can give me ideas on where you would like the story to head :0) teamwork has always been my favourite creative outlook :0)


	7. Chapter 6

I just want to say a huge thank you to those sticking with this story, it's a real challenge for me to stick to a project, so I fully appreciate the support from you all :0)

I promised you a longer chapter and ta-da! Here it is Munchkins :0)

Disclaimer: I do not own Reba, or real persons connected to Reba. This is purely for fan enjoyment only. If I did own Reba...well...you should know by now what I would do with her...again you are dirty birds...but I like your thinking haha! GAH SHE'S SO HOT!

Anyways, back to the story :0)

Enjoy x

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After finishing off her breakfast, Reba took a sip of her orange juice and looked at Pake over the top of her glass. Her eyes squinting in the sunlight, she tried to work out why he was there still, he hadn't given her a full answer on the bus. Maybe something had happened back home and he didn't want to tell her with everyone around, it couldn't be bad news because he was acting normal. Maybe too normal. After 31 years of knowing this man she knew when he was being genuine and when he was putting up a front - this was one of those times where she could see right through her brothers façade.

Reba thought back the night she had laid in bed thinking about her husband, thinking about what he was doing. Oh, she knew what he was doin' alright. Drinking, dancing, rodeoin' and flirting like hell with all the pretty girls wanting to get with a big rodeo star. She thought about when she was one of those girls, exactly ten years ago he had pulled her onto his lap and kissed her like there was no tomorrow. Sure she had had a few beers but she knew what she was doing, and after that kiss she knew that she had come across someone special. Only thing was, he had a wife and kids back home - and boy did she feel dirty the next day when she remembered what happened. However, over time, things had become estranged between Charlie and his wife, Reba remembered seeing him at the bar after rodeoin' on more than one occasion, drinking away his sorrows. Sometimes it was when he came out top. He was still sad, and she felt for him. Over time their...relationship...grew and she found herself falling in love with him, and for a while after the wedding, he had felt the same. He showered her with gifts, always complimented her, said the right words...all his charm had paid off and Reba couldn't help but feel that he was it for her. She had given him her greatest gift and she has never regretted it, even today.

Coming out of her thoughts, Reba looked back up to Pake to see that he was studying her.

"Where'd you go?" he asked softly

She gave him one of her half hearted smiles and shrugged her shoulders.

"Just thinkin' about some stuff"

He raised one eyebrow, "Stuff?"

Reba let out a huge breath and put her thumb on her chin. She cast her eyes downward and waited. Finally she brought them back up and looked straight into the identical pair opposite her.

"Charlie"

"Charlie" Pake mirrored her tone.

"Where is he Pake?"

She saw his eyes go wide, had he not known that she knew he was coming? That's it, he thought she needed 'protecting' from the big bad hubby.

"Who told you he was comin'?"

"Carter...yesterday"

Pake let out a whistle and sat low in his chair.

"So much for breakin' it to ya gently"

Reba let out a a cross between a cough and laugh.

"Awe you don't have to be gentle with me when it comes to Charlie Pake...I've been with the man for 10 years...I know him better than I know myself..." She trailed off, looking down at her plate. Suddenly she wasn't so hungry anymore, "Maybe I know him a little too much"

"Well that was a loaded gun"

Reba was quiet for a while. She tried to remember what she felt that night when she had come to her conclusion about Charlie,  
but once again, there was nothing.

She felt nothing.

Why can't she feel something, she loves this man and would consider working all this pent up anger out so they can get back to the way they were but something was stopping her...something was getting in the way of her emotions and it was bugging the crap out of her.

"You know..."

Her head shot up.

"I didn't for sure...but yes...I had a feeling there was something goin' on. Thank you for confirming my suspicions though"

Pake moved forward in his seat, took his hat off and ran a hand through his hair.

"This is so shitty Nell. You shouldn't have to find out this way"

"As opposed to what Pake? I'd rather hear it from you than him. Or when I finally head home and find people gossiping about me behind my back. 'Poor girl, she don't have a clue'. 'I wonder if she knows what he got up to while she was out of town'. 'well, I heard Charlie cheated on his wife with Reba, so maybe she's getting her comeuppance'".

"They are not saying that"

Reba waved him off

"Come on Pake. Everyone in that town knows that Charlie left his wife for me. I've still got the burns in my back from all the dirty looks"

"Ok now you're just being paranoid"

"Paranoid!? Lord, I knew they were talkin' trash about me, heck even my own brother thought bad of me!"

"What the heck are you talkin' about?"

"You didn't even come to the wedding Pake! I personally asked you to be there and you said no! You don't understand how much that hurt me"

"I said no because of the reasons I told you 10 years ago. You had no business marrying a man with children, you were just a child yourself! I knew he would end up hurting you"

"I was not a child Pake, I was 21! No, no. The real reason you didn't want me marrying Charlie was because he was taking me away!"

"From what?"

"From you!"

By now Reba had risen from her seat and was walking around the table as she spoke, her arms waving around as she got angrier, her face a mixed veil of hurt, outrage and annoyance.

"You couldn't stand it that I was spending more time with Charlie at the rodeo's than you. I had taken your buddy away and you lost a little sister, you didn't have to look out for me any more! And that just ate you up. Me marrying Charlie was the happiest day of my life but because you got your pride hurt, you weren't there to help me enjoy it, and that...well, it just about killed me"

Pake was silent for a while as Reba stood completely still, the veil slowly falling from her face, leaving only the hurt behind.

"Well. How long you been storin' all that up?"

"Pake-"

"No, I want to know. You obviously have been sitting on this for 10 years Reba. Why tell me now?"

"To be honest...I don't know where that came from. Maybe I've been keeping it inside so long that it got lost over the years. Maybe I was trying to do what I thought was right and keep my feelings to myself, it seemed stupid, somehow, to bring it up after so long."

"And yet you chose now to get it all off your chest" Pake said stoically

"Look, I'm sorry. I guess I'm just hurtin' over Charlie and taking it out on you. In all fairness, I think you were right all along"

Pake looked across at Reba, she had sat back down but on top of his side of the table, one foot resting on his seat and the other curled underneath her. He patter her knee as a signal to come sit next to him, which she did.

"Sis...I'm so sorry about this. I didn't want to be right, but i saw what kind of a man he was. God forbid he would dare to break my little sister's heart. Guess I kind of blew it on that front huh?"

Reba giggled a little

"Pake...you are such a son of a bitch when you want to be...but once in a while you show your sweet side...and for that I'm grateful. A girl is lucky to have a brother like you."

Pake pretended to fix his imaginary bowtie, a stupid grin forming on his face. Reba laughed and playfully nudged him in the ribs. When she stopped laughing she grabbed his hand and placed her tiny one in it, both of them momentarily looking down at the image of their intertwined fingers - both sensing the bond between them that they knew no one could break...not even Charlie Battles.

Reba squeezed his hand and looked at him.

"I love you"

Pake squeezed back

"I love you too"

After sitting like that for a while Reba decided to face the inevitable.

"Where is he?"

"Over at the motel. I told him I wanted to tell you first and then let him meet you here"

She sighed and squinted towards the sun. Letting her head fall down she took in a deep breath.

"You don't have to talk to him if you don't want to, I can just say you were busy and drive him back home"

"No, no. I'll talk to him. But not here, I don't want the band around. I just want to get this over and done with. Who knows, he may actually be civil to his wife"

Pake glared at Reba and once again squeezed her hand

"If he gets out of control, you know where I'll be"

"I know. Thank you."

Reba looked towards his truck.

"Alright, let's do this" She said as he used their locked hands to drag Pake up from his seat and pull him towards the truck.

Once they were on the road heading towards the motel and Charlie, Reba started getting that gut feeling again. Or maybe it was nerves. Whatever it was, it must have been showing on her face because Pake moved his hand over hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. She smiled a little. Instantly feeling calmer.

_This is going to be a long day Nell._

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Please read and Review, they mean a lot and I'm not being funny here but I strive for feedback, so anything you got, I'll take it...even if it hurts.

Is it me or did that sound WAY dirtier than I meant it to?

:0/


	8. AUTHORS NOTE

Hey everyone!

This is just a little authors note to let all my faithful readers know that i have not given up on this story, its just these next few weeks i am going to be sooo busy with uni work, and i know its not an excuse, but i literally have no time for extra curricular stuff. the workload has gotten too much is i have had to cut down on my spare time, to make sure i get it all done before easter break.

I know you all expected this to be a chapter update, and you should know that i also get frustrated when my fave stories get updated and i get an alert and get myself all excited..go to read it and find that its the dreaded authors note.

please believe me that i am loving writing this story just as much as you are reading it so dont think i have left it for good. i have MANY ideas for chapters, its just finding the time to write them :0(

thank you for staying with this and all your fantastic reviews. they really help my motivation :0)

Ellie

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